Positive Freedom Review - Pessimists proceed with caution. ;)

[Dave Wojo]

We just returned from the October 22nd sailing of the Freedom. We booked this cruise in celebration of my and my wife's 25th wedding anniversary. We nearly didn't get to go. A few weeks prior to the cruise my wife was diagnosed with gall stones and had to have her gall bladder removed, and due to some complications she ended up hospitalized for a week. After she was released, and we knew that she would be okay, we still feared that she might not be cleared to travel. On the Wednesday just prior to the cruise she received the "OK" from her doctor, but with strict guidelines on physical activity and diet. Our cruise quickly shifted from an adventurous excursion packed week to one of complete relaxation and recuperation.

 

I can say with complete honesty that there is absolutely nothing about which I can or care to complain. In fact, quite the opposite. Each staff member with which we came in contact was friendly, responsive, polite, and professional. We tried the steakhouse for the first time, on our anniversary, and it is truly something not to be missed. The staff in both the steakhouse and the main dining room took great care with my wife's dietary restrictions.

 

We greatly enjoyed meeting the folks from our roll call, especially at the cocktail hour that one of our members set up. :)

 

We truly enjoyed the Latin trio that played in the main lobby most nights before dinner. They are gifted musicians, and we actually found ourselves hating to leave the lobby to go to dinner. The piano player who played on the other nights was just okay, but he was nowhere near on par with the trio. Had it not been for the trio being so good we probably wouldn't have considered him "just okay".

 

Our original itinerary had us going to Cozumel, Costa Rica, and Panama. We made it to Cozumel, but then diverted east and away from the hurricane, going instead to Jamaica and Grand Turk. There were quite a few folks that were disappointed by the itinerary change due to the hurricane, with missing the rain forest being the one thing most commonly mentioned. Like most we talked with we knew that the decision was made with our safety in mind, so we chalked it up to the adventure of cruising, and just rolled with it and adjusted our plans. We ended up booking the Sea Winds all inclusive excursion in Jamaica and had a wonderfully relaxing day on the beach. In Grand Turk, my wife surprised me with the Ultimate Snorkeling excursion while she did some light shopping then enjoyed a nearly empty Serenity deck. The tour company that runs the Ultimate Snorkel excursion has a top notch operation. They were very safety minded yet still fun and engaging, and their equipment was in very good condition.

 

We were booked in cabin 9203, which is an "interior obstructed view" cabin. This is a handicapped cabin, which we booked knowing that if someone truly in need required the cabin we would gladly be giving it up to them. This cabin has a forward facing window, the view of which is partially obstructed by the forward railing. The door to the observation area outside of our window was just down the hall, which was very nice when arriving and departing from the ports. With the lights on in the cabin people on deck just outside the cabin could see in very clearly, so we had to be conscious of keeping the curtains closed whenever changing or, you know. :rolleyes: :) I would say the only true downside to this cabin is that there is no "hallway" when you come in the door, so any noise in the passageway could be clearly heard in the room. Ear plugs at night fixed that in short order. ;)

 

Here is the link to our pictures on Flickr, which includes videos of the cabin layout. Pictures

 

Long story short, this cruise was everything we expected and needed, and we'll definitely be cruising with Carnival again. In fact, we're booked on the January 21st sailing of the Liberty. :)

[UpstateCruizer]

Great review Dave and we totally enjoyed every bit of our cruise as well. It was great meeting you guys and what a relief it was when we found out that it was the other cruise ship with delayed embarkation and not ours :) Lucky you ......if the Liberty is half as awesome as they are promising with the changes that will be an incredible ship to sail on.

[NHNEV2003]

Our first-ever cruise was last year on the Freedom--loved every day we spent on board.

 

We too had no negatives!

[navybaby1113]

Thanks for the review and the pictures! Glad you had a great cruise!

[richfret]

Just curious. First time I have ever seen where you could reference the word PICTURES and it would get you directly to the FLICKR program for picture viewing. That's really neat. Is it part of the FLICKR program to set that up or do you have to do some thing special. I use a different site for pictures and have to send the viewer an E-mail inviting them to view my pictures. I saved the HOME site and will probably use them in the future.

[wendymac]

We just returned from the October 22nd sailing of the Freedom. We booked this cruise in celebration of my and my wife's 25th wedding anniversary. We nearly didn't get to go. A few weeks prior to the cruise my wife was diagnosed with gall stones and had to have her gall bladder removed, and due to some complications she ended up hospitalized for a week. After she was released, and we knew that she would be okay, we still feared that she might not be cleared to travel. On the Wednesday just prior to the cruise she received the "OK" from her doctor, but with strict guidelines on physical activity and diet. Our cruise quickly shifted from an adventurous excursion packed week to one of complete relaxation and recuperation.

 

I can say with complete honesty that there is absolutely nothing about which I can or care to complain. In fact, quite the opposite. Each staff member with which we came in contact was friendly, responsive, polite, and professional. We tried the steakhouse for the first time, on our anniversary, and it is truly something not to be missed. The staff in both the steakhouse and the main dining room took great care with my wife's dietary restrictions.

 

We greatly enjoyed meeting the folks from our roll call, especially at the cocktail hour that one of our members set up. :)

 

We truly enjoyed the Latin trio that played in the main lobby most nights before dinner. They are gifted musicians, and we actually found ourselves hating to leave the lobby to go to dinner. The piano player who played on the other nights was just okay, but he was nowhere near on par with the trio. Had it not been for the trio being so good we probably wouldn't have considered him "just okay".

 

Our original itinerary had us going to Cozumel, Costa Rica, and Panama. We made it to Cozumel, but then diverted east and away from the hurricane, going instead to Jamaica and Grand Turk. There were quite a few folks that were disappointed by the itinerary change due to the hurricane, with missing the rain forest being the one thing most commonly mentioned. Like most we talked with we knew that the decision was made with our safety in mind, so we chalked it up to the adventure of cruising, and just rolled with it and adjusted our plans. We ended up booking the Sea Winds all inclusive excursion in Jamaica and had a wonderfully relaxing day on the beach. In Grand Turk, my wife surprised me with the Ultimate Snorkeling excursion while she did some light shopping then enjoyed a nearly empty Serenity deck. The tour company that runs the Ultimate Snorkel excursion has a top notch operation. They were very safety minded yet still fun and engaging, and their equipment was in very good condition.

 

We were booked in cabin 9203, which is an "interior obstructed view" cabin. This is a handicapped cabin, which we booked knowing that if someone truly in need required the cabin we would gladly be giving it up to them. This cabin has a forward facing window, the view of which is partially obstructed by the forward railing. The door to the observation area outside of our window was just down the hall, which was very nice when arriving and departing from the ports. With the lights on in the cabin people on deck just outside the cabin could see in very clearly, so we had to be conscious of keeping the curtains closed whenever changing or, you know. :rolleyes: :) I would say the only true downside to this cabin is that there is no "hallway" when you come in the door, so any noise in the passageway could be clearly heard in the room. Ear plugs at night fixed that in short order. ;)

 

Here is the link to our pictures on Flickr, which includes videos of the cabin layout. Pictures

 

Long story short, this cruise was everything we expected and needed, and we'll definitely be cruising with Carnival again. In fact, we're booked on the January 21st sailing of the Liberty. :)

 

We did this itinerary in May - Loved every minute of the cruise, I wouldn't do the Panama, Costa Rica ports again but am glad I did it once... Dave it is so nice to see a positive review! Hope your wife is doing well!

[Dave Wojo]

Just curious. First time I have ever seen where you could reference the word PICTURES and it would get you directly to the FLICKR program for picture viewing. That's really neat. Is it part of the FLICKR program to set that up or do you have to do some thing special. I use a different site for pictures and have to send the viewer an E-mail inviting them to view my pictures. I saved the HOME site and will probably use them in the future.

 

After typing the word PICTURE, or any other word, drag over it to highlight it and then click the "Insert Link" button (globe and chain link). Copy and paste your link into the window that pops up and click "OK". Easey peasey. :cool:

[KansasK]

We were on the same cruise and also had a wonderful time. Like many on board, we selected the cruise for the Panama Canal destination, but we also realized that Hurricane Rena was smack in the way and we enjoyed the other two ports, too. We were actually on the Ultimate Snorkeling excursion, too! We enjoyed both snorkeling locations on this excursion and were happy for another chance to snorkel, having snorkeled in Cozumel, too.

 

We found the ship was well run and the staff was helpful and polite. We had a good cruise on the Freedom.

[Dave Wojo]

Great review Dave and we totally enjoyed every bit of our cruise as well. It was great meeting you guys and what a relief it was when we found out that it was the other cruise ship with delayed embarkation and not ours :) Lucky you ......if the Liberty is half as awesome as they are promising with the changes that will be an incredible ship to sail on.

 

Thanks! It was great meeting you guys, too. We actually booked the Liberty cruise first, quite some time before booking the Freedom cruise. We got to talking about our 25th, and that we should do something. Shelly went on a hunt for a good price, and found an amazing deal. So glad she did.

 

Our first-ever cruise was last year on the Freedom--loved every day we spent on board.

 

We too had no negatives!

 

What a great ship to have a first cruise on. :) Our first was on the Disney Magic, back in '06.

 

Thanks for the review and the pictures! Glad you had a great cruise!

 

You're welcome, and thanks!

[Dave Wojo]

We did this itinerary in May - Loved every minute of the cruise, I wouldn't do the Panama, Costa Rica ports again but am glad I did it once... Dave it is so nice to see a positive review! Hope your wife is doing well!

 

First, thank you for the well wishes for my wife. :) She is doing very well. If you ever have the need to recover from a surgery complication I'm sure she would highly recommend doing so in the Caribbean. :D We may have to do this itinerary again at some point, having missed Costa Rica and Panama.

 

We were on the same cruise and also had a wonderful time. Like many on board, we selected the cruise for the Panama Canal destination, but we also realized that Hurricane Rena was smack in the way and we enjoyed the other two ports, too. We were actually on the Ultimate Snorkeling excursion, too! We enjoyed both snorkeling locations on this excursion and were happy for another chance to snorkel, having snorkeled in Cozumel, too.

 

We found the ship was well run and the staff was helpful and polite. We had a good cruise on the Freedom.

 

It's good to know another cruiser with the right attitude, and the ability to just roll with it. :) I was on the 11:00 Ultimate Snorkel. Which were you on?

[Love PalmTrees]

DH and myself were on same cruise and except for the disappointment with the re-routing, it was the best cruise ever!! (It had been our 25th anniversary earlier this year too!!) The staff was awesome. Our cabin steward was the best! We were in cabin 6252, a balcony cabin forward. Miraculously toiletries would appear in the bowl in the bathroom throughout the cruise. The food was great. (However, I was disappointed with the shrimp.) The decor of the ship was the most elegant I have seen on Carnival. We loved the Serenity deck - adults only area. Most days we were able to get the wonderfully cushioned lounges and relax in the marvelous sunshine. Although, on last sea day chair hogs were out in full force. The Beatles show was awesome! Our DD has done theater for many many years throughout grade, middle and high school, and I come to look more than just the dancing and singing. I have to say, the set design, props, costumes, etc were incredible. Carnival did not spare any pennies here.

 

Cozumel was great as always. Montego Bay, Jamaica was so-so. I think we were still bummed out about missing Panama, but understand the reason. However, we did not let it prevent us from enjoying our wonderful cruise. (As our DS said as he was studying at law school, "At least you are still on a cruise." Cruising has infected our whole family. :D) Grand Turk was very beautiful: crystal clear water, nearly white sand beaches, and beautiful palm trees. Very relaxing!! We did not do any excursions. We had booked the Panama Canal excursion. Our funds were refunded to us on our S&S.

 

I would sail the Freedom again in a heartbeat. Although I would probably say that about any cruise. I just love to cruise!!

[Love PalmTrees]

Oh, I forgot to mention.... DH and I were exploring on our deck going all the way forward and we discovered the secret door! Our cabin was port side and the door was just down our hallway. We went out there one night and were delighted to see all the incredible stars in the skies! There is no lighting on the deck, so please watch your step. But the darkness let us see so many stars! Living near a major city, we do not see that many stars here. He also had an app on his iphone that by holding up the phone, he could tell the name of the star, planet, space lab, etc. Very very cool thing to do, if you get the chance. We tried to do this one last time on last night, but unfortunately, I stepped into a couple inches of water as I stepped over the threshold. Unbeknownst to us, it was raining.

[JohnBoy in NC]

Oh, I forgot to mention.... DH and I were exploring on our deck going all the way forward and we discovered the secret door! Our cabin was port side and the door was just down our hallway.

 

Hi

so deck 6 - port side--all the way forward? Was there a door that said crew only or anything? We tried to find it on the Miracle - no luck. Going on Freedom in 2.5 months...

 

Thanks

[cruisecruisecruise2011]

Our first-ever cruise was last year on the Freedom--loved every day we spent on board.

 

We too had no negatives!

 

If you never cruised before, how do you know if there were any negatives?I suggest you book at least 4 more and then make a comparison.:D

[Upandadam]

THanks for taking the time to post the review. And we hope all is well with SHelly.

 

Very much looking forward to boarding the Freedom ourselves shortly as it will be our first Conquest Class ship and a nice relaxing cruise after being with the whole fam damily on a much larger ship the week prior.

 

What port was that in Jamaica? Perhaps Montego Bay?

[delluser]

Thanks for a great review. We have Freedom booked for March 2012. We have a similar stateroom booked for our cruise and after looking at your photos I'm worried that it is really small? Did the room seem tiny to you? Was there enough storage space? I've only cruised Balcony rooms before, so I'm apprehensive about feeling cramped. Thanks!

[Bucknut613]

We will be on the Freedom Janruary 22nd. This is our first cruise & celebrating our 25th anniversary and needless to say we are stoked!! The pictures are awesome!! I hope I'm not breaking any kind of copyright laws but I have the picture of the ship with the people swimming near the beach on all of our computer 'backgrounds'.

 

THANKS!!!!

 

:D

[gelo7]

Glad to hear that you had a good cruise, thanks for sharing.

[shelwoj]

Thanks for a great review. We have Freedom booked for March 2012. We have a similar stateroom booked for our cruise and after looking at your photos I'm worried that it is really small? Did the room seem tiny to you? Was there enough storage space? I've only cruised Balcony rooms before, so I'm apprehensive about feeling cramped. Thanks!

 

The room itself was fine, didn't feel cramped at all. There isn't a couch, just a chair and the small table. As far as storage, we were ok, but didn't take a lot. If you have long dresses you'll need to hang them either in the bathroom or on the wall hook because the closets don't have the space for them.

 

Really my only complaint was the hallway noise. I'd book this type of room again in a heartbeat and we've had a wrap around balcony before!

[AmberTeka]

I enjoyed your review. We have sailed the Panama.CostaRica route Twice before..and are going again In Feb. I think the Feb.11 sailing is the last Panama cruise for Carnival. I could not find one for the next two years. The other lines..penetrate through two gates in the canal..so Panama charges $250 extra taxes....Insane. If the people of Panama got any of it..but clearly they don't.

That said...we took the train excursion to the Canal Once. Great tour. We did the bus to the Pacific..then the ferry through the canal..hot..hot hotter..what time is is.what day is it..just get me off of this ferry and put some ice on me...DO THAT ONE..ONLY IN JAN.FEB.

LOVED IT THOUGH. MAKES YOU REMEMBER WHEN THE USA WAS YOUNG. CONFIDENT. PEOPLE..nice but don't book independent tours there IMHO. AntiAmeriasm..high.

 

COSTA RICA...gives you hope. Great nation.Wonderful people..Schooling for all kids up to the 11th grade. Once past Limon..clean. neatly landscaped little house.Prosperity shows.Saw a volcano. smoking. Ate a pineapple just picked and cored. Like sugar. WANTTOGO BACK.........BEAUTIFUL PLACE.

 

I am glad to hear that the Beatles Show is playing. Did you see the other shows? Play any Trivia?

We loved the Freedom. Glad to hear she is still a fine Lady.Ship.

[seacat66]

If you never cruised before, how do you know if there were any negatives?I suggest you book at least 4 more and then make a comparison.:D

 

no need for comparison if you have no complaints!

[blue_water]

If you never cruised before, how do you know if there were any negatives?I suggest you book at least 4 more and then make a comparison.:D

 

?:rolleyes:

[NHNEV2003]

If you never cruised before, how do you know if there were any negatives?I suggest you book at least 4 more and then make a comparison.:D

 

What does that mean? Does it matter if it was our first or our fifth?

 

We had no complaints whatsoever about the Freedom.:)

[blue_water]

just unnecessary chatter, not useful feedback.

 

Thanks for the report! I think we still need that balcony option and larger stateroom though. We enjoy the little privacy the balcony offers early and late and also hearing the waves at night...